Age Old Affections
by Redeeming Red
Summary: "Katie Diamond? It had a nice ring to it." WARNING: Contains mentions of child abuse! James/Katie. Five-Shot.
1. A Savior

**Jatie angst for the win! Ahaha, yeah…**

**This was ****SUPPOSED**** to be posted this morning. But oh no, my alarm decided to go off thirty minutes late. No big deal. We're not on speaking terms at the moment, mind you.**

**Just to warn you, this fic, especially this first chapter, shall be very angsty at times and deal with erm…"darker" themes. I would just come out and say it, but I don't want to spoil anything for you! **

**Also, this is wholly dedicated to Mudmaster94, who requested more Jatie. Hope you like it! **

**P.S. On "Big Time Mansion," Kendall said that he was sixteen while trying to convince Mrs. Knight to let him house-sit, and Logan said "Together, we're sixty-four!", implying that they were all sixteen. So why Logan doesn't have his license, I'm not sure…**_**but anyways,**_** on "Big Time Fever," when Buddha Bob creepily popped out of the pool (ahaha, he's so awkward; I love him!) and offered to help Katie get out of her contract, she said, "Dude, I'm ten!" Therefore, I have deduced that Katie and James are six years apart.**

* * *

Katie whimpered, wrapping her arms protectively around her legs. Her knees were bunched to her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to forget the terrifying images flashing through her mind. But even beneath her eyelids, she still saw the red, the dripping, oozing scarlet pooling onto the kitchen tile. She still heard Kendall's screams, saw him turn his head in fear, smacking a hand to his cheek in defense and disbelief. His fingers were crimson as he pulled them back, staring at them in horror. She still saw _him_ advancing for her now. "D-don't you dare touch her!" Kendall snarled, lunging for _him_ once again.

One solid punch to the gut and Kendall was crumpled on the floor, weeping in agony. Katie could feel herself hyperventilating, tears silently rolling down her cheeks. Her body quaked with fear as _he_ raised his fist. Clenched with whitened knuckles. "You worthless little brat," _he_ hisses, teeth gritted and glistening in the faded glow from the kitchen light fixture.

"K-Kendall," she choked out, her back pressed painfully to the wall. Her fingers scrabbled across the blue wallpaper, searching uselessly for an escape, a sanctuary, _anything. _

"Leave her alone!" Kendall shouted, his voice breaking. He tried to raise himself up, only to collapse back onto the floor.

"Please," she begged desperately, repeating the only word her tongue could form, "please."

A fistful of her long brown hair. Yanking hard. She screamed because it hurt. "Stop!" Kendall wailed, his jade eyes wild and frantic, "Please! Please just stop! I'll do anything!"

_He_ just threw his head back and laughed. His breath reeked of alcohol. Katie flinched. "Shut up, pretty boy," _he_ sneered, "She needs to be disciplined."

Kendall flung himself at _him_ feebly, but his bruised body simply slammed back to the floor. _He_ laughed again, jerking at the tresses a second time. Katie shrieked, crying harder at the pain. The fist was raised again. The cracking sound it had made when it smashed into Kendall's jaw rang deafeningly in her ears. Red. Now, she would be red too. She closed her eyes because she didn't want to look. But instead of hearing bone shatter, she heard _him_ yell out. Her hair was falling loosely around her shoulders. She peered up cautiously, afraid of seeing the ivory knuckles again. And the scarlet. But it was angels instead. Her escape, her sanctuary, her saviors.

Officer Garcia had _him_ by the scruff of his neck, tossing _him_ against a wall. Logan was kneeling by Kendall, easing him onto unsteady feet. Carlos punched _him,_ before Officer Garcia could retaliate. Now _he_ was the one yelling in pain, not Kendall. "Aye, hijo!" Officer Garcia scolded, swatting the infuriated Carlos away.

"You sick piece of trash," Carlos spat behind his father's extended arm.

His tan fist was ready to punch again over his father, but James clasped onto the wrist. "Not now," he muttered, locking eyes with his friend.

Carlos growled but lowered his fist. Logan had Kendall's arm slung around his shoulders, and the blonde leaned into him for support. "Call 911," Logan croaked, his voice raw with worry.

Katie felt dizzy, and her knees buckled beneath her. She plummeted to the tile, her body shaking with her passionate sobs. She felt her body being towed into strong arms, a kiss being pressed to her hair. "Katie." Her vision blurred.

* * *

Katie rested her forehead on her knees. Father. Dad. Daddy. None of them suited _him_ anymore. None of them ever really suited _him_ in the first place. When Mom worked late nights to make ends meet, _he_ would turn to his liquor to forget the day's failures, the lack of money, the disappointment that Katie and Kendall carried with them. Mom was never home when _he_ got angry. Kendall and Katie never said a word because _he_ told them not to. Usually, Kendall would just lock him and Katie in his bedroom and hold her while _he_ cursed and threw things downstairs, shouting an occasional coherent phrase about his flawed and worthless offspring. Kendall would rock Katie gently, softly singing her a song from his heart until the man a floor beneath them was forgotten as Katie fell asleep. But tonight, they had been too late. Tonight, Kendall had asked about money for hockey before running to his room. Tonight, _he_ had roared back that there was barely enough money for food and that the money would not be wasted away on his weakling son's pastimes. Kendall would rather play his guitar to the rhythm of his soul then go to a study session to the rhythm of Dad's fist. Therefore, he was stupid. He was weak. He was worthless.

Tonight, Kendall had screamed back that Dad didn't even know him. Tonight, Dad had been more than angry. He had been furious. He had thundered back that he knew enough. That he knew that Kendall was meaningless. That Kendall was an idiot. That Kendall could never play hockey because he was so fragile, so delicate. That he would never call trash like Kendall his son. He had roared that he knew enough, that _that_ was enough. Then his fist flew and the red came. Katie shuddered, goosebumps flecking her skin at the thought.

She looked around the empty waiting room. It was 1:38 in the morning, the clock said. Mom was on her way. Dad was gone. Kendall was gone. Logan and Carlos were talking to someone in the next room. Katie could hear them, although they probably didn't want her to. "He was supposed to practice hockey with us, but he didn't show up and he wouldn't answer his phone," Carlos' voice echoed exhaustion.

"Mr. Garcia went to his house with us to check on him, which is where we found him," Logan continued in hushed tones, adding thoughtfully, "I think his jaw is dislocated."

"It is," a voice Katie didn't recognize answered, "he's also got three bruised ribs and some minor internal bleeding. We'll operate on him and give him stitches in ten minutes."

He was broken. Katie sniffled, biting her lip. She wanted Kendall to hold her, to sing her to sleep, to tell her that everything would be okay. She wanted Kendall so badly. Warmth was suddenly draped across her shoulders. "You should get some rest," James whispered, tucking the blanket securely around her.

"Will he be okay?" Katie's breaths were labored and sounded strangled.

James pulled her into his lap, hugging her close to his chest. Katie could hear his heart beating beneath his jacket, still pounding wildly from the night's encounters. "He'll be fine, Katie," James propped his chin on Katie's head, "I promise."

Something shattered within Katie, and she began bawling into James' shoulder. James ran his hands along her back, tugging her closer and whispering comforts into her hair. "I promise, Katie," he murmured, "He'll never come near you or Kendall again; I won't let him. I'm so sorry, but you're safe now. I've got you; it's gonna be okay."

Her body still shivering, Katie snuggled deeper into the heat that was so pleasantly and wholly James. "Thank you," she sniffled, swallowing down the rest of her sobs.

James kissed her forehead softly, "You're welcome."

Katie felt herself fading again, a drowsiness overwhelming her suddenly. Sleep whisked her away with her head on James' shoulder, him still cradling her blanketed form and rocking the both of them gently, humming quietly.

An eight year-old in a fourteen year-old's arms. On discovering that they were unrelated, many would find it strange, different, _obscure._ Maybe even wrong. But neither of them cared in the slightest.


	2. A Partner in Crime

**I guess I kind of forgot to mention that each chapter of this fic would take place at a different time. I hope you guys kind of like that setup; I think it's pretty neat. Anywho, thanks so much for all of the encouragement on the last chapter! I'm so glad you guys liked it so much; I totally didn't see that coming. I hope this chapter is up to your standards as well. It's more of a setup chapter for future Jatie, as was the last one. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It had been two years since Mr. Knight's arrest. Over those years, the entire Knight family's world had been drastically transformed. Kendall had somehow impressed the stone-hearted producer, Gustavo Rocque, and immediately after Mrs. Knight, Katie, James, Carlos, and Logan had been flown out to L.A. with Kendall so that the blonde could pursue a musical career with his friends. Mrs. Knight seemed thankful for a change of scenery and a chance to start anew. Mr. Knight simply wasn't mentioned among Kendall and his friends. Katie tried to forget about him, which was fairly easy in L.A. The city provided multiple distractions for everyone. Kendall had soon found a girlfriend in a sweet blonde much like himself named Jo Taylor, a frenzied actress named Camille had latched onto Logan, and Katie had befriended the lovable housekeeping staff and enjoyed many joyous hours of tormenting the sadistic manager, Mr. Bitters. The boys' friendship strengthened with the move, and Katie would often join in with their group schemes. One such plan emerged when Kendall trudged into their apartment at 2J, head hung with shagged blonde hair concealing his sad eyes.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Carlos asked curiously from the kitchen counter, pausing mid-bite as he devoured a corndog.

Kendall sank into the orange couch beside James, who slung a caring arm around his friend's hunched shoulders. Kendall sighed, twiddling his thumbs absentmindedly, "Jo thinks we should take a break."

The awkward tension that settled over the room was almost tangible. "Well, looks like someone needs to change her mind then," James stated brightly.

"Yeah!" Carlos agreed happily, smearing a small stain of mustard from his lips.

Kendall offered a weak smile, "Thanks you guys. But I really don't want to upset her anymore than she already is. Just leave it alone this time."

"Kendall," James met the blonde's downcast eyes seriously, "Do you love Jo?"

Kendall inhaled before answering quietly, "I-I think so. I know it's early, but it just felt…right."

"Then you can't let her slip away," James said softly.

"He's right," Logan stated from the kitchen table, glancing up from his algebra assignment, "I think you should tell her how you feel, Kendall. That's probably all she needed to hear in the first place."

"I don't think so," Kendall shook his head, "Please guys, just don't get involved."

Carlos was about to protest, but Kendall interrupted. "I'm going to my room," Kendall announced as he left the room, his head still bowed in despair.

As soon as the door shut, Carlos leapt from his seat, "We've got to do something."

"I agree," James seconded the notion, standing from the couch, "First, we need to get him and Jo alone."

Katie smiled, momentarily raising her eyes from the epic battle between her and the demonic she-beast in her Castle Bashers game. It was reassuring to see how much her brother's friends cared for him. Ever since the incident with Mr. Knight, James in particular had been extremely defensive of both Katie and Kendall. Katie could only suppose that he must have felt guilty about not getting there sooner, even though he was in no way to blame.

"Guys," Logan warned, "he told us to stay out of this."

"C'mon Logan," James teased, "Kendall _needs_ this. You saw how hurt he is; we've got to help him."

"Yeah, Logie!" Carlos encouraged, "for Kendall's sake!"

Logan rolled his eyes, "_Fine._ But only because Kendall's so upset." After a pause, he continued, "So how do you guys plan on getting them alone _and_ in the same place anyways?"

Carlos and James were silent. Katie flipped her screen shut. The she-beast could wait. "I have an idea," she inserted.

"Oh no," Logan shook his head firmly, "We are not attempting another of your little…_diabolical schemes._"

Katie scoffed in offense and James laughed lightheartedly, "Come on, Logan. The last time we tried one of her '_diabolical schemes,_' we got this sweet room makeover. What's your idea, Kate?"

Grinning at James' pet name for her, Katie explained, "Well, Logan can tell Jo that Camille needs to talk to her right away and lead Jo to the ballroom on the fifth floor."

"The _ballroom?_" Logan squeaked in disbelief, his eyes wide and panicked.

"Shh," James motioned the boy quiet, "Keep going, Kate."

"Then James and Carlos can convince Kendall that they need his help because Carlos accidentally locked his helmet in the ballroom."

Carlos yelped at the thought, but Katie continued, "Then Jo and Kendall are alone and we leave the rest to good ole teenage infatuation."

James and Carlos sported equally impressed expressions. But of course, Logan wasn't even marginally convinced, "And how do you plan to rent out the ballroom just so Jo and Kendall can make up? Do you even _know_ how expensive that place is?"

"Who said anything about renting it?" Katie smirked.

"_We're breaking in?_" Logan's tone was sharp with horror and panic.

"No, _I_ will get the key from Mr. Bitters' office while you guys do your jobs," Katie grinned.

"How the heck are you going to get into Mr. Bitters' office?" Logan demanded.

Katie shrugged, "I'll figure something out."

"Carlos can handle Kendall," James said suddenly, "I'll come help you, Katie. You might need it since this is Bitters we're talking about here."

"Fine. Just try not to get in the way," Katie giggled as James tousled her hair, "Is everyone in?"

"I'm in," James clarified with a smile.

"Me too!" Carlos chirped.

Logan sighed, rolling his eyes under the glares from James and Carlos, "Fine, I'm in, too. But if we get evicted, I will not hesitate to blame all of you!"

Katie chuckled, "Whatever. Just give me and James a fifteen minute head start to make sure we get the ballroom unlocked."

Carlos and Logan nodded their understanding. "Operation 'Teenage Infatuation' is underway!" James announced.

* * *

"So what's the plan?" James whispered. A large fern display shielded Katie and him from the few people browsing the lobby.

"How about you get Mr. Bitters to come and look at something in the pool and then I run into his office?" Katie suggested, surveying the lobby for any possible obstacles to their strategy.

"Sounds good," James grinned as he stood. He strolled up to the front desk and dinged for Mr. Bitters.

"What?" Mr. Bitters growled as he exited the solace of his office.

"There is something absolutely _disgusting_ in the bottom of the pool!" James exclaimed dramatically, "And it is _seriously_ grossing me out! As a Palm Woods resident, I demand that it be cleaned right now!"

Mr. Bitters rolled his eyes, "No. I've got more important things to do than worry about your petty pool concerns."

"Well," James declared impudently, "_I_ might just have to go tell _Gustavo_ that we aren't being treated right at the Palm Woods. And then _he_ might just go complain to the-"

"Alright, fine! Just show me where it is!" Mr. Bitters snapped.

James led Mr. Bitters away, and Katie swiftly sneaked past the front desk. As she had hoped, the room was unlocked, and she slipped inside quietly. She immediately spotted Mr. Bitters' lanyard, complete with a set of keys, on his desk. Snatching it up, she crept back out, hoping James still had Mr. Bitters detained. To her relief, there were no angry managers waiting for her back in the lobby. None of the other loiters even seemed to notice her, much less the suspicious collection of keys in her hand. Grinning victoriously, she carefully concealed herself again behind the fern and waited for James. Mr. Bitters stormed back into the lobby only seconds later, fuming and muttering something about "stupid hockeyheads" as he returned to his desk. Katie raised an eyebrow as James still didn't reenter the lobby after a few more minutes. Sighing, she hid the keys under the pot and edged out to the pool when Mr. Bitters wasn't looking.

She distinguished James' figure quickly and rushed up to him to alert him that the first part of the plan was a success. She stopped suddenly as she realized that James was talking to Jett. James was scowling at the other teenager, and Jett had an obnoxious grin plastered across his face. "So whatcha gonna do, pretty boy?" Jett mocked, "Nothing? Are you too _pretty_ to do fight back? You coward. _You fag._"

"Hey!" Katie glowered at Jett and rushed to James' side, "_Nobody_ calls James names like that!"

Jett laughed, "Well guess what, Katie? _I_ just did."

Katie opened her mouth to shout back, but Jett cut her off, "Your faggot of a brother's girlfriend is in love with me, and there's nothing you two freaks can do about-"

James' fist slammed into the boy's cheek without warning and Jett toppled backwards onto the cement, a little bit of blood dribbling from his lip. Katie gasped, and James clasped her wrist. "Don't you _ever_ call Kendall that again," James seethed, "Come on, Katie. We don't have time for this."

Katie was speechless as James guided her back into the lobby. After wordlessly retrieving the keys, James punched in the up arrow at the elevators and waited impatiently. Katie could tell that he was still livid from Jett's words. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence in the elevator, James sighed and apologized, "Sorry about that, Katie. You…didn't need to see that."

"He deserved it," Katie scoffed. After a pause, she added softly, "Thanks for standing up for Kendall."

James smiled faintly, "Anything for my best buds."

Once on the fifth floor, Katie and James dashed down the hallway. Katie beamed as the ballroom's double doors clicked open. "Let's wait inside," she said.

"And spy on them?" James cocked an eyebrow, a mischievous grin alighting on his lips.

Katie shrugged, "We could think of it as _watching_ them…from a concealed area where they can't see us."

James shook his head, but his grin remained, "You're too much, Kate."

He followed wordlessly as Katie stole into the ballroom, flicking on the dim lights of the chandelier. "Now we just have to wait," Katie commented, scampering up a flight of stairs to a curtained balcony from which she could inconspicuously observe her brother.

A block of light glimmered from in between the folds of the curtains as Katie and James awaited the couple's arrival. James was still uncharacteristically silent as he slumped into a cushioned seat beside Katie. "Hey," Katie said gently, "you okay?"

James sighed, "Katie, do you think I'm a coward?"

"What? Heck no! You're one of the bravest people I know!" Katie answered, shocked that James would even consider such a thing.

James looked away, "After Mr. Bitters left but before you came to the pool, Jett came over and started asking if Kendall minded that Jo was in love with him now. I told him that that was ridiculous and that Jo still loved Kendall, and that's when he just laughed and said those things to me. I can't help but think he was right."

"James, no! He couldn't have been more wrong!" Katie replied quickly, placing a small hand on James' arm, "You stood up for Kendall to that jerkface, and I know you'd do the same for any of us if it came to that. That shows that you would definitely fight back if you had to."

"And," she added quietly, "you saved me and Kendall's lives that night. And my mom's. That took a lot of courage, James. Please don't ever think you're anything but one of the best friends my brother could ever have, and me too."

James locked eyes with Katie and grinned. Impulsively, he leaned over and softly kissed Katie's cheek, "Thanks, Kate. You're too sweet."

Katie blushed and turned her head in hopes that James wouldn't notice. The last time he had kissed her had been on that very night that he had rescued her. "They're here," James noted with a smile as Jo and Kendall both stumbled into the room.

"Um, hey?" Kendall began, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Hey," Jo responded quietly.

Katie and James couldn't make out the rest of their dialogue, but soon Jo was giggling and Kendall had his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her head as he held her. "Operation 'Teenage Infatuation' is complete," Katie grinned as she closed the curtain, giving the two lovers some privacy.


	3. A Date

**I have so many updates to do besides this one, but it's the one I finished first, so I wanted to go ahead and post it. Hope you guys like it! This might be the longest chapter of this story yet.**

**P.S. I reference "Big Time Fans" in this chapter once. If you haven't seen that episode, it contains Katie frequently denying having a crush on James and James refusing to believe it. And the whole "invisible boundary breaking due to James Diamond" deal is a reference to the events of the first chapter.**

**

* * *

**

"So," the suave voice goaded, "You finally gonna tell me who your date is for the dance?"

Katie huffed out, anger and annoyance building within her. Dances at the Palm Woods had become a tradition thanks to James, her brother, and his friends. Not that they appealed to her at all. Besides, the only person that she would ever even _consider_ going with just so happened to be the current aggravation in her doorway. "I already told you that I'm not going!"

James just chuckled, leaning against the doorframe with arms crossed, one ankle resting on the other. "Like I'm falling for that," he smirked.

Katie rolled her eyes, flipping carelessly through TV channels in hopes of her attention being snagged by something besides the older teen. She wasn't sure when exactly it had happened, but _somewhere,_ amongst all the comforting hugs and aptly timed jokes and irresistible smiles, she had fallen for James, despite her constant denial of a crush on him in the past. But due to his demanding music career, he was nearly always traveling on tour or working, so she didn't see much use in mentioning to him that he and the time he spent on her meant the world to her. He just so happened to be home now on a week's break with the rest of the band, but at the moment, she _almost_ wished he wasn't. "It's the truth," she groused, "Whether you choose to believe it or not."

James laughed, his voice confident and light-hearted. Exactly what Katie _wasn't_ at the moment. James strolled over to the bed, the mattress dipping with the added weight. Katie rolled her eyes again. "Free stuff? Loud music? Potentially unsupervised teens? Give me one good reason as to why _you_ wouldn't be at the dance," James challenged with a playful grin.

Without warning, something within Katie snapped. For the second time in her life, some invisible boundary had been broken. By James Diamond. "Maybe it's because nobody asked me!" she shouted, fury and anguish and pure despair leaking venomously into her voice.

James said nothing, blinking slowly. "What? You think someone would ask _me?_ Nobody wants trash like me, James! _Nobody!_ My own dad hated me!" she raved on.

James' face twisted into a scowl as Katie tumbled onto the comforter, crying softly. "Don't even mention him, Katie," James muttered, running a hand idly down her spine, "He doesn't deserve to call you his daughter."

James pulled Katie into his lap. She was older now, but she still fit perfectly, as if she was still a heartbroken eight year-old and he was an awkward fourteen year-old. "I'll take you," he whispered into her hair.

Katie gasped and shook her head fervently, shoving away from James' embrace, "Don't!"

"Katie, you deserve to go," James murmured, nestling his nose into the chestnut tresses.

"No, you can't be my…_my date._ It would just look weird and they'd think that you were a freak and it'd-it'd just be wrong."

James chuckled, "I don't care what a bunch of high-schoolers think of me. And it wouldn't look wrong."

"James, you're twenty, soon to be twenty-one later this year. I'm only fifteen. _It doesn't work,_" Katie choked.

"You're just overreacting. It's not like we're in love, Katie," James soothed.

But the attempted consolation did anything but console. Katie felt something twist into a knot in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, but she felt utterly miserable. _Of course James Diamond didn't love her, what did she expect?_ "Katie? Katie, what's wrong?" James asked quickly, noting the way Katie's face fell.

"Nothing," Katie snapped, trying to squirm free of James a second time, "Just go away and leave me alone."

James shook his head, his strong hands firmly holding Katie in his lap and effectively thwarting her escape attempts, "I can't. Not until I know for sure that you're going to have the night that you deserve."

"Which is what, James?" Katie retorted, "When one of my brother's friends forces me to go to a dance that I have no interest in?"

James stared at her for a moment before smudging away a tear with his thumb, "Is that really what you want, Katie? To not go?"

Katie bit her lip before nodding slowly. James exhaled, "Alright. Then I won't make you go."

Katie simply leaned further into James' arms, absorbing the warmth and security radiating from his body. "But there's no way you're staying here all night," James said plainly, rising from the bed with Katie still cradled in his arms.

Katie swatted at him playfully until he gently lowered her to the floor with a smile. "Oh? And what am I doing instead?" Katie asked, trying to retain her anger but unable to withhold a grin at the thought of spending a night with James.

James winked at her, "I'll guess you'll have to come with me and see."

Katie rolled her eyes but clicked off the TV. "You're really not gonna let this go, are you?" she smiled slowly, following James through the apartment's kitchen.

"Nope," he smiled back, "you deserve to at least go out tonight, if you so passionately insist on not going to the dance."

Katie opened her mouth, but James silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Mama Knight, I'm taking Katie out for dinner. Is that okay?" he called in the direction of the master bedroom.

"Sure! I'm just finishing up the laundry!" Mrs. Knight responded cheerily. Katie knew she would appreciate the time alone. The arrival of the boys had drained her a little, and Kendall had hastened off to see Jo, as had Logan with Camille. And Carlos had actually lately revived his relationship with Stephanie, so he was occupied as well, thus leaving Mrs. Knight to herself for a while.

"Let's go," James motioned to the open door broadly.

* * *

There wasn't anything particularly special about the pizza place James took Katie. In fact, the floor was grimy, the wallpaper was peeling, and the waitress acted as if it was humanly impossible to chew gum and take dinner orders at the same time. When she finally left, still loudly smacking her gum, curiosity got the better of Katie. "James?"

"Mhmm?"

"Why here?" Katie waved a hand discreetly towards the diner's dinner crowd.

"You don't like it?" James' eyes widened with horror.

"No, _I_ like it. But I think you knew that," Katie smiled softly, "Do _you_ like it?"

"Well, uh," James locked eyes with her briefly before offering a weak smile, "Not really."

Katie laughed, "I can tell."

"Sorry," he mumbled, carding his fingers through his hair nervously.

"No, it's fine. But since you don't like it, again, why here?" Katie pressed.

"Because you like it," James said simply, "And this is your night, not mine."

Katie blushed and focused on her lap to avoid James' gaze. "While we're on this topic," James continued after a pause, still smiling gently, "what exactly _do_ you like about this place?"

"It reminds me of Minnesota," Katie grinned back, "Despite the less fond memories, there were some things I liked about that place. Mom would take me and Kendall to pizza places that looked like this when she got off work sometimes."

James nodded, "You still love pizza, don't you?"

"Hey, I'm only fifteen here! I'm _allowed_ to still love pizza!" Katie giggled.

James' smile broadened at her laugh. "Touché," James smiled as the waitress returned, plopping a personal-sized pizza in front of Katie and a salad in front of James.

Good-humored banter and carefree jokes and were exchanged throughout the dinner until both the pizza and the salad had disappeared. Katie's heart sank at the thought of the night being over as James paid the bill, only to be pleasantly surprised as James turned towards Palm Woods Park. "Um, that was our turn," she remarked.

"The night's not over yet," James replied with a mischievous smirk.

James parked in a secluded lot. The sun had set long ago and the first stars of the night were dimly twinkling in the sky. Lampposts lit the deserted paths of the park, and Katie noticed that apart from a couple or two, they were the only people in the park. She giggled as James opened her door for her. "What are we doing here?"

"I thought we could go for a walk," James shrugged, that familiar soft smile spreading across his face.

"Isn't the park supposed to be closed?" Katie pointed out.

"Don't you like breaking the rules?" James asked back, his grin widening.

Katie rolled her eyes, still smiling, "You got me. Let's go for a walk."

The meaningless dinner conversations were reintroduced and soon Katie was laughing and blushing and having the best night of her life. Suddenly, James stopped and pulled Katie aside, onto the lawn. Katie arched an eyebrow at him. "Let's dance," he proposed quietly, slipping her hand into his.

"Why?" she questioned, her breath catching in her throat as James' arm wrapped delicately around her waist.

"Because whether or not you went to the dance, you still deserve to have at least one good dance before the night's over," he responded, beginning to gently sway their bodies before adding jokingly, "And you're in luck because nobody's a better dancer than me."

Katie didn't doubt it as James led the dance, stepping in an unseen pattern which Katie soon caught onto and followed. It was slightly awkward with James being over a head taller than her, but neither of them cared. James twirled her lightly, making Katie giggle breathlessly again, before a sudden voice shattered the silence. "Hey! Anybody out there? The park's closed!"

Katie's eyes widened. "What do we do?" she hissed.

"Follow me!" James responded hurriedly, clasping Katie's hand tighter and tugging her away.

Katie assumed that James was taking her back to the car, but she stopped dumbfounded as James brought her to the center of the park and began climbing a big, heavily branched tree. "What are you doing?" she whispered nervously, glimpsing over her shoulder in case their pursuer had reached them.

"Hiding. Come on!" James coaxed, extending an arm to Katie.

Seeing no better option, Katie gripped his hand, and he heaved her into the tree. James settled on a branch just above eyelevel, and Katie scrambled next to him just as a local officer came to the tree. James draped his arms protectively around Katie, holding her close as the man glanced up into the tree, shining his flashlight suspiciously among the branches. Shaking his head, he jogged on, Katie breathing an audible sigh of relief. Untangling herself from James, she smacked at his arm, only half-joking as she mumbled, "Idiot. Why didn't you go to the car?"

James' smile flickered as a solemn tone settled in his hazel eyes, "Because if we went to the car, we'd have to leave."

Katie blushed wildly for what must've been the thousandth time that night, praying that the darkness somewhat concealed her flushed complexion. "And if we left," James continued, his voice fading steadily, "I wouldn't get to do this."

It then dawned upon Katie that their faces were merely centimeters apart. James' hand smoothly cupped her cheek, and he leaned closer until Katie could feel his breath on her lips. James closed the distance between them, gently pressing his lips to hers. Katie wasn't sure how to react. Not that she'd care to admit it at the moment, but this was her first kiss. In fact, apart from family, James was the only person in the past who had ever even kissed her cheek. Thankfully, James didn't seem to mind guiding the kiss. He tenderly worked his lips against Katie's, who gradually shut her eyes, because James had and that was what people did in movies anyways. She flashed them open fearfully as James pulled away, wondering if she had done something wrong. "Katie," James said slowly, and Katie could have sworn he almost looked nervous, "I, um, I think I love you."

Katie knew James, like herself, appreciated a good prank every now and again, but she couldn't decipher any sort of joking behavior in his expression. He looked completely serious. And scared. Just to be safe, Katie queried, "For how long?"

"I…I don't know," James stammered, rubbing at the back of his neck like he had always done when he was a little kid and anxious about something, "I've just-I've met a lot of people on the tour, and I couldn't help but think that none of them were as fun or as sweet as you. I kept remembering all the fun I had with you at the Palm Woods, and I missed it. A lot. And at dinner tonight, I-I sort of realized that I think you're really pretty and I like being with you a lot more than I thought I did."

James' voice trailed off, and Katie thought she could distinguish a faint shade of red tinting his cheeks. Katie couldn't have been any happier in that moment. Hearing those words from James had sent shivers tingling throughout her body, and she felt like she was soaring, far away from the morose memories of Minnesota and the troubles of L.A., just alone with James and completely elated. She suddenly realized that she still hadn't replied to James as he hurriedly continued, "Now I know you didn't have a crush on me that one time I teased you about it back at the Palm Woods and you swore you never had, and I believe you. And if that's still the case, then I promise I'll try as hard as I can to-"

"James, I do love you!" Katie blurted, cutting him off.

James cocked an eyebrow suspiciously, disbelief filling his expression, "Really?"

Katie nodded fervently, spewing out her emotions in a rushed jumble of phrases, "Yes, I don't know when it happened, but you've always been so protective of me and-and you saved my life when I was eight and I guess that means I've always liked you because since then I always wanted to be around you because you made me feel safe and then after you left I started realizing how much I missed having you around and that I actually thought you were really cute and I just-"

James gently silenced her with another kiss, which didn't offend Katie in the slightest. When their lips parted again, Katie noticed that now James was smiling, and she was sure she was too. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered back blissfully.

* * *

Katie felt like she was glowing for the entire car ride back to the Palm Woods, mostly because the fingers of James' unoccupied hand remained laced between hers the whole time. As the two of them crept back into 2J, Katie cringed at her mother's troubled voice from the orange sofa, "Where have you two been? Katie, it's past your curfew!"

"It was my fault, Mama Knight," James asserted quickly, "I took Katie to the park after dinner."

Mrs. Knight sighed out, and Katie relaxed a little to see the relief wash over her face, "Well, alright. Just please let me know first next time. And Katie, off to bed, young lady."

Katie groaned, but James squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "I'll see you in the morning," he leant down to whisper before kissing her cheek softly so that Mrs. Knight didn't notice.

Katie was still grinning as she snuggled into her bed that night. She slept very well at the contemplation of waking up to James. James who loved her. James who was _in love_ with her. Still smiling, she drifted off to sleep.


	4. A Fianceé

**Goodness me, it's been a long time since I wrote for this! *jaw drops at last update* I am **_**so**_** sorry to those of you who like this story! And wow, only one more chapter to go! I think you guys are really going to like the next one. It's going to have little flashbacks to when James and Katie were little kids in Minnesota in it, and I'm really excited for it. As for this chapter, I can only hope it isn't too rushed. Because it feels a bit rushed to me. Let me know if you think so and I might add some more flashbacks in the next chapter to make this one seem less…sudden. I hope you like it! And the last line to this chapter was meant to pop up in the last chapter, but I just couldn't resist throwing it in already, haha.

* * *

**

A small smile flickered across Katie's lips as she examined the magazine rack before her. James Diamond smiled back at her confidently from the cover. Her grin faded at the headline beneath him. "_Most Wanted Man in America Discusses his Love Life._" Curiosity perked, she cautiously flipped to the article. "'Well, I'm trying to put my career first right now,' the heartthrob tells us, 'so there's not much time for serious relationships. But a casual date every now and again is fine, just no commitments for now.'"

Katie frowned, her heart beating off rhythm at the words. _No commitments?_ Casual dates with _whom?_ Katie felt something wet drip off of her cheek. She smacked at the tear crossly, chiding herself inwardly. _Of course James wasn't "committed" to her!_ He was a celebrity, one of the most widely-know, in fact. Adults respected him. Teenage boys envied him. Teenage girls _obsessed_ over him. And Katie? She was nobody. Just another obsessive teenage girl, apparently.

After placing the article back on the rack, Katie trudged home. It began drizzling, and she quickened her pace, splashing through swiftly-forming puddles as her damp hair clung to her face. The rain poured harder, disguising the tears that were now freely rolling down her cheeks. Her clothes were soaked as she stomped into the Palm Woods lobby. Mr. Bitters glared at her ragged appearance, but she ignored him. There was a line for the elevator, so she took the stairwell. Her phone vibrated in her pocked as she tramped up the stairs. Flipping it open, she composed herself with a sniffle and answered despondently, "Hello?"

"Hey, Kate," a deep and confident voice replied brightly.

Katie felt warmth flood her cheeks at the sound. Only one person in the world had ever called her that name. "J-James?" she choked out.

"Are you okay? You sound kind of hoarse," his suave voice was tinted with worry.

"I'm fine," she muttered, her voice betraying her by cracking on "fine."

James hesitated before responding, "I'm coming to see you. I just landed in L.A., so I'm in the area."

"Wha-why are you in L.A.?" Katie stammered, stalling in hopes of devising a scheme to avoid the handsome brunette.

"I wanted to surprise you" James answered, sounding slightly hurt, "I miss you, Kate."

Katie's heart thumped excitedly at the words, but she calmed herself and mumbled, "I…now's not a good time, James. Maybe you can stop by later."

An uncomfortable silence passed before James spoke again. "I don't know how long I can stay, Katie. I want to see you. Just let me take you out someplace. Please."

It wasn't in Katie's power to refuse him. The last word, that darned way James could say "please" in such a spellbinding way and use it to get whatever he desired, had tainted her logic, all coherent thoughts about her plan to _not_ see James vanishing temporarily. "Okay."

"I'll be there in thirty minutes."

No other words were exchanged as Katie hung up. Fumbling with her key, she unlocked 2J and slipped inside. Her mom had left a note explaining that she was out running errands. Katie slouched into the orange sofa, flipping her laptop open to help occupy her mind. Her tactic was painfully unsuccessful as James' picture grinned back at her from the Pop Tiger homepage (she had never summoned up the energy to change it from when she was still an avid Dak Zevon fan). "_American Hunk Nominated for Best Actor Award._"

Katie clicked away irately, nearly slamming her laptop shut. She had always liked James. _Always._ She may have feigned annoyance with him when she was younger, but the admiration was still there, buried within her soul from the moment he first lulled her to sleep in his fourteen year-old lap. So it didn't seem very fair to her that everyone could like James now. And that James seemed to like her a little less ever since everybody else began liking James. Katie remembered waking up on that day that now seemed so long ago.

* * *

_Katie rubbed at her eyes blearily as she walked out of her bedroom. Mrs. Knight was already seated at the counter, sipping her morning coffee in her bathrobe. It dawned upon Katie that she must have really slept in, because Mrs. Knight __**never**__ woke up before her. "Where's James?" she asked in what she hoped was a casual tone of voice._

_ "He had to fly out early this morning," Mrs. Knight remarked, giving Katie an apologetic glance, "The band had an unexpected interview scheduled that they had to make."_

_ Katie tried not to look too crushed as her mother's words sank in. She also wondered how much about her new sort of, almost relationship with James her mother knew about, based off of the sad look her mother was still giving her. "Oh, but he left this for you," Mrs. Knight said quickly with a smile, handing Katie a note._

_ Katie unfolded it carefully, grinning a little as she took in the more or less neat cursive letters that she had come to recognize.

* * *

_

Katie reached her hand across her laptop to her notebook lying on the table. She flipped it open and slid out her favorite sheet of paper in the world.

"_Dear Kate,_

_ I'm so sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye. Well, actually I did, but you probably don't remember that. I came in your bedroom and kissed your cheek, but I don't know if you were awake or not. But anyway, I'm really, really sorry. I wish I could've kissed you for real. I'll come back to visit you as soon as I can, and I'll think about you every day until then. Expect a call from me as soon as our plane lands. I love you, Katie. I'd write more, but Kendall says we have to go now. Don't forget about me, okay? 'Cause I could never forget you._

_ Love,_

_ James_"

Katie smiled sadly. James had called her _that_ day, three years ago. And he had called on an average of every two months or so since then, and Katie had reveled in every second of each one. But other than that, Katie had hardly seen him. He'd stopped by whenever he could, and there had been a few more hidden kisses and pizza dates when he had, but as stated, it had been a long time. Why should it be so surprising to her if James had moved on? Even if he didn't sound like it in the phone call, he was probably just waiting to tell her that they couldn't be together. That was probably why he was even in L.A. in the first place.

A knock at the door made her jump. Katie shakily stood to her feet, hiding the letter. She wiped her hands across her cheeks quickly, ensuring that there were no signs of tears on her face. She creaked the door open and gasped a little at the sight before her.

James cracked a feeble smile at her, his wet hair clinging to face, "You failed to mention that it was raining here."

Katie completely forgot that she was supposed to be upset as water ran down James' face, "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Please come in!"

James chuckled breathlessly and walked into the apartment, shrugging off his soaked jacket and carefully placing it on the coat rack, trying not to drip water everywhere. "Um, can I get you something or what?" Katie asked, feeling useless and hating herself for making James walk through the rain.

James ran a hand through his hair carefully, "Could I maybe get a quick shower before we go?" He added with a smirk, "So I'm a little more presentable?"

Katie forced a smile, "Sure." She considered showing him to the bathroom, but then she remembered that of course he still knew where everything was.

As she heard the water turn on from the living room, Katie approached the mirror hanging from their kitchen wall. Back in the day, James used to talk to himself in it. But it hadn't had much use since the boys had moved out. Katie had found the whole aspect of observing one's appearance constantly superficial. But at the moment, she couldn't resist giving herself a quick glance-over.

She sighed a little in disappointment. She ran her fingers through her hair hurriedly, hoping that would make it look less tangled, because it obviously was. She felt her eyes welling with tears again as she took in her appearance. Why was James even here to see someone _like her?_ Just a normal girl in a T-shirt and jeans when he could be with supermodels? _To mock her? To show his sympathy for her?_ Why _else_ would he be there?

"You look beautiful," James' voice in her ear made her jerk in surprise, as he stooped down to give her cheek a light kiss. She blushed and forced a faltering smile as she met James' eyes in the mirror. His hair was still damp from his shower, but he otherwise looked tremendously handsome, Katie noted with warmth creeping to her cheeks.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Katie swallowed down the sob that had built up in her throat and nodded shakily. James seemed to not notice as he asked playfully, "Have an umbrella? It might save us some trouble."

Katie giggled, calming down a little as James acted as he always had. It relaxed her. She rummaged through a closet, until she found a big black one. Her heart was doing somersaults as James held the door open for her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He opened the umbrella as they left the lobby and Katie kept in step with him, wondering where they were going.

"No pizza this time, huh?" Katie asked with a smirk as James stopped in front of a small Italian restaurant with a sheepish smile.

"Not this time," he grinned, "This time's gonna be a little different."

Katie smiled back as James held the door for her once again, wiping her sneakers off on the doormat in hopes of not dripping all over the carpet. Katie gasped at the sight of the place. The staff was all dressed in clean white shirts and black dress pants, each table was candlelit, and all sorts of herbs and other pleasant smells wafted about the room. The place silently screamed that it was _extremely_ expensive, despite its small appearance. "James!" Katie hissed as James closed the umbrella carefully, "Are you sure we shouldn't eat somewhere a little…cheaper? I won't mind."

James looked alarmed, "You don't like it?"

"No, it's not that. It's just…we don't _have_ to eat here. It's really not a big deal; it's just lunch, you know," Katie said quietly.

James looked a little relieved and winked at her, "It's more than just lunch if I get to have it with you. I want to make this special."

Katie blushed again as James approached the front desk. Apparently, he had already made reservations because they were seated immediately. Katie bit back another gasp as she inspected the menu. There wasn't a single entrée that was less than thirty dollars. "James," she whined quietly, "I don't want to run up the bill. Is it alright if I just get a side salad?"

James sighed, "Katie, please. I want you to enjoy yourself; don't feel bad about the bill. Trust me. I've got it all under control, so just order what you want."

Katie rolled her eyes mischievously, kicking softly at James' shoe under the table, "Whatever."

James grinned back at her, and a waiter soon came to ask for their orders. Katie wasn't sure exactly _what_ she had ordered, due to its fancy-sounding name, but it was one of the cheaper items on the list and she was sure she'd like it. Whatever it was.

After some small talk between Katie and James, just like old times, a waiter brought back two pasta dishes and placed them in front of the pair, giving Katie a skeptical look, but the girl was too absorbed in James to notice. In fact, Katie was so focused on James that she began to pick up on little things that implied that something was wrong within the boy. The way his smile began to flicker and look more and more nervous as well as the way his eyes began to look more worried than usual. And the way his hand shook a little bit as he pushed it roughly through his hair. "James, is everything okay?" Katie asked quietly, raising her eyes from her pasta with concern.

James smiled weakly, "Y-yeah. I just…uh…_I need to tell you something._"

Katie felt her heart plunge down to her stomach. _So this was the part where they faced reality, and James told her that they just couldn't work out._ Preparing herself for the worst, she took a deep breath, "Sure. Anything."

James ran his hand through his hair again, "Okay."

He cleared his throat before beginning, "Kate, I know I' haven't had much time to be with you lately, and I'm sure that that's really disappointing for you especially."

James paused, before hesitantly continuing, "But I wanted you to know that a day hasn't gone by without me thinking about you, just like I promised in my letter. You're so different from anyone I've ever met before, and I really…_love you,_ Katie. I know that I haven't told you that nearly as often as I should, but I do. Ever since we hung out at the Palm Woods, I don't know, I guess we just clicked. But everything always felt right with you, and I've never met anyone like that, _like you,_ in my entire life."

Katie gasped aloud as James slid out of the booth and onto one knee on the carpeted floor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, flipping it open to reveal a golden band with one diamond set in, shimmering in the candlelight, "I want to be with you forever, Kate. And if you want me too, then Katie, will you have me?"

Katie felt a few awkward stares boring into her skin from the other people in the restaurant, but she couldn't have cared less. And the uncertainty on James' face was breaking her heart, but she _had to_ know something. "B-but in an interview, you…you said that you didn't want to have any commitments!" Katie stammered, tears forming in her eyes, "I thought you'd moved on."

"I could never!" James exclaimed quickly, reaching his free hand up to gently wipe away the tears trickling down Katie's face, "I-I though you didn't want the paparazzi to know about us. Katie, I'm so sorry. I'll take it all back for you. I'll do anything to have you, Katie. I love you."

"Really?" Katie whispered, fearful of his answer.

"Of course," James replied instantly, completely serious.

Katie smiled, "You don't have to do that."

James smiled back weakly, and suddenly Katie realized that she still hadn't answered his question. Unable to torture James any longer, Katie flung her arms around James' neck, "I love you so much, you know that? Yes! Yes, yes, _yes_ I'll marry you!"

James wrapped his arms around her smaller frame as Katie buried her face into James' shoulder, running a hand through her hair. "I love you too," he murmured, gently kissing her neck as he held her close.

Katie smiled as she felt James pull back to lift her hand gently, sliding the beautiful diamond ring onto her finger. She leaned in closer again, and he smoothly joined their lips together. Katie couldn't have been happier. It was the best she had felt in her entire life, even better than her first kiss with James. Sitting there with her lips against James', Katie realized that things could only get better from then on out. _She'd never have to be alone again. She was going to belong to James Diamond, and he was going to belong to her. She was going to be able to be with him all the time, and likewise. _

Katie Diamond? _It had a nice ring to it._


End file.
